Eggs make an appearance during Easter and Halloween in more ways than one. Some trick and treaters choose to do more harm than good during this spooky celebration by covering houses in toilet rolls, stealing pumpkins and egging cars. Eggs may seem harmless at first glance but the damage they inflict on a car’s paint job can be permanent once they dry up. If your car was a victim of egging, then egg whites are your enemy and you need to act quickly in order to save your precious automotive paint.
Hose Down Fresh Stains
Time is of the essence, so the second you spot eggs on your windshield and doors, bring out the garden hose and wash them down immediately. Make sure that you have your car soap and pressure washer on hand for the next step.
- Use strong water pressure to your advantage by spraying all of the fresh stains. You need to get rid of those pesky egg whites since they can seep into the clear paint and cause irreversible damage.
- Add one ounce of car soap for each gallon of water you add inside your bucket. Mix them together and use your car wash glove to wipe the egg shells off your car.
- This is the easiest way to remove fresh stains. However, if you were asleep during this egging incident, then chances are you are going to wake up to dried egg shells and stubborn stains that will require more than just a mitt and car soap.
Soak Stubborn Stains in Hot Water
This method involves spraying those acidic stains using a mixture of hot water and car washing soap. You can use a spray bottle of your choice to get this done.
- Cover those stains with this solution and let them soak for as long as possible. Soaking allows the hot water to work its softening magic on those hard egg shells.
- Remove the egg stains using a scrub brush with soft bristles. This step involves repeated scrubbing of car doors and other affected areas until those egg whites are gone. You can speed up this process by spraying your car and letting it soak once more, or you can use equal parts white vinegar and water. This stain removal mixture is great but it can have adverse effects on your car’s clear coat, so you need to proceed with caution.
- Give the above solutions time to work instead of rushing through the cleaning process. If this method did not work, then you can move on to the next one.
Spray Egg Shells with Waterless Spray
Waterless car washes are another tool that can be used to remove egg shell stains. All you need is a microfiber cloth and a plastic scraper to help you complete this cleaning task.
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- Spray the stained surface with the waterless spray and leave it for around ten minutes.
- Use the cloth to remove the egg residue and do not hesitate to use the plastic scraper if needed. Wipe lightly in one direction. If your car was severely egged and covered in a mountain of stains then it is always better to repeat the same process as many times as possible. Make sure that you replace your dirty cloth with a clean one so you do not end up smearing egg shells on windows and other car parts instead of removing them.
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Apply Brake Fluid
Brake fluids can also be used to remove dried egg residue. If you have a bottle lying around in your garage, you can use it as an alternative to other cleaning solutions. You will also need to fold a durable kitchen towel into a square before you begin.
- Spray the towel with brake fluid and use firm circular motions to wipe the stains. You can add more fluid if you have a bigger surface area to clean.
- If the egg white damage was severe and you were unable to salvage the paint, then taking your vehicle for a quick touch up is recommended.
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Sand the Damage
Egging can leave more than just stubborn stains on your car. The impact of the hard shells hitting your vehicle at full speed can leave you with chipped paint and more patching up to do. Evaluate the overall damage in order to determine the amount of sanding you will have to do. Wide and flat areas such as car doors and windows are easier to sand. You can avoid scratching the paint by choosing the right kind of sandpaper for this task. High grit sandpaper in the 80-210 grit range is the go-to texture in this case. The goal here is to smooth out and polish the chipped area with care and precision in order to preserve what is left of the original paint.
- Allow the sandpaper to soak overnight in order to make the grit less harsh.
- Decreasing the surface area of your chosen sandpaper by cutting it into a small piece will help you avoid accidentally scratching non-chipped paint.
- Sanding needs to be done gradually using gentle motions. This is far from a five minute task, so you need to take your time and make the most out of your sandpaper. Keep on sanding the stained area until the egg whites are finally gone. Do not go overboard with the sanding in order not to scrape away the paint as well.
- Smooth out the clear coat surrounding the stained area with the help of a rotary polisher. These polishers remove marks in the paintwork quickly and efficiently. You can also manually touch up this area using a polish coat instead of a machine. The polish can be applied to the sanded area to get rid of unattractive swirl marks.
- If you are unable to get your hands on a polisher, then your second option is to take your car to the garage for a professional spot repair.
- Magic erasers can also double as egg stain removers during emergencies. These erasers can be used in the absence of sandpaper and are available online and at Home Depot.
Sources:
- How to Remove Egg Stains From Your Car’s Paint Job – Your Mechanic
